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Purchasing Instruments

As a student's interest and commitment to music and Band grows, parents often seek to purchase a higher quality instrument. (Parents, we urge you to stay away from instruments that can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, or Target. If these instruments break we cannot find parts to fix them.) There are three basic types of instruments available.

  • Beginner: Used by students in elementary and beginning band. These instruments are designed with the young student in mind and will take a moderate amount of abuse. Generally, sound quality gives way to durability.

  • Step-up: Nicer than a beginner instrument, this type is built with the older student in mind. Step-up horns will have nicer features and will not endure as much abuse as a beginner model.

  • Professional: Used by serious middle and high school music students, college music majors and professional musicians. These instruments are of the highest quality and will not take any abuse. They produce the truest symphonic sounds and cost substantially more than beginner models. Parents who wish to purchase an instrument should contact me. I will be happy to suggest a brand and model that will suit your child's needs.

Mouthpieces

All woodwind students are encouraged to purchase a step-up mouthpiece. These mouthpieces are designed to withstand the air supply provided by a growing student. They also cause a noticeable improvement in the quality of sound produced by the player and are an appealing option when compared to the purchase of a new instrument. A beginning instrument with a step-up mouthpiece will give young players the opportunity to produce a more mature tone. The brass mouthpieces listed are step-up sized mouthpieces and are the ones on which we start our brass students. If your child's instrument was supplied with any other size brass mouthpiece, return it to the dealer and exchange it for the listed size.

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Step-Up Mouthpiece Examples:

  • Clarinet (Bb and Bass): Debussy or Vandoren B-45 with a Rovner ligature. Specify Bb or Bass Clarinet.

  • Saxophones (Alto, Tenor, Baritone): Selmer C Star S-8O or a Yamaha mouthpiece with a Rovner ligature. Specify alto, tenor, or baritone saxophone.

  • Trumpet: Bach 3C

  • Horn: Bach 11

  • Trombone and Euphonium: Bach 6.5 AL, Yamaha 48 or Schilke 51 (pronounced ‘shill kee)

  • Tuba: Bach 18, Bach 24AW

Local Music Stores

Following is a partial list of musical instrument retailers in our area. We strongly encourage you to call around to find the best price on a quality instrument along with the best service. Additional music retailers may be found in the yellow pages.

  • Carere Music 4947 Winters Chapel Rd. Atlanta (770) 671-0517 Sales, Repairs, and Lessons

  • Atlanta Band Center 4773 Memorial Dr. Decatur (404) 477-3786 Sales, Repairs, and Lessons

  • Gwinnett Discount Music 155 Gwinnett Dr. Lawrenceville (770) 237-8001 Sales, Repairs, and Lessons

  • Ken Stanton 5236 Stone Mountain Hwy Stone Mountain (678) 672-6742 Sales, Repairs, and Lessons

  • King Band Instrument Repair Decatur (404) 373-1050 Instrument repairs

  • Sam Ash 2999 Cobb Pkwy SE, Atlanta · (770) 818-0042 Sales and Repair

  • Woodwind & Brasswind New Instrument Sales and Supplies (National Chain)

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